Randall Bramblett
Rich Someday

There’s no mistaking the message that Randall Bramblett is trying to convey
with his latest effort Rich Someday. The title tune has less to do with
the actual achievement of financial wealth than it does with the folly of trying
to obtain it. The rest of the album, too, deals with dashed dreams, misplaced
priorities, and wasted time. Even the artwork cheapens money by distilling it to
its lowest common denominator: the penny. In one photo, pennies pour from a pair
of cupped hands, while on the cover, a penny is inserted into a frame meant for
a globe. Not surprisingly, then, the collection’s 13 tracks are constructed
thematically to illuminate the importance of community, connection, love, and
friendship.

Unfortunately, Bramblett’s music continues to be less imaginative than his
lyrical concepts, and, much like his past outings, Rich Someday primarily
features a fusion of Southern rock and soul, though there also are hints of
blues and country flitting around its periphery. By removing the textural layers
that enveloped his previous endeavor Thin Places, he brought his
stylistic approach closer to that of Eric Clapton, but the newfound directness
of Bramblett’s arrangements means that the material lives and dies based upon
the gutsiness of his backing band’s performance. At times, the ensemble is so
impeccably polished in its delivery that the album is left without a distinctive
edge. Although Bramblett’s vocals succeed in keeping the songs aloft, even when
they stray towards mediocrity, Rich Someday ultimately contains little
that truly will push him into the purview of the mainstream.